Revealing mistake: When the two Delta snipers are approaching the second downed Black Hawk, a Somalian man in a white shirt is shown from behind. Clearly visible is a pack on his back. A few seconds later he is shot by one of the snipers in that exact spot. It's a blood pack. (01:23:45)
Continuity mistake: The lead in convoy has it's window smashed with the glass and shrapnel going into the drivers face. A few shots later the glass is back in one piece. (01:25:00)
Visible crew/equipment: When the Ranger driving the 5 ton truck is hit by the unexploded RPG, the closeup of his midsection shows (although VERY briefly!) the black special effects gaffer tape that secures the special effects charge. (01:25:00)
Continuity mistake: When Randy Shugart and Gary Gordon arrive to defend the downed chopper, Shugart is shooting his rifle as a right-hander, but in one short sequence as they're pulling Mike Durant to cover he is shooting as a left-hander. The shot has obviously been reversed as the bolt of the M14 and the height adjustment knob on the aim point optic are on the wrong side of the rifle. (01:29:00)
Suggested correction: You can see him change shoulders as he goes back into the building.
The mistake is valid. He's shooting with the rifle against his right shoulder and you can see the flag patch on his right shoulder. In the next shot, after the guy is pulled out, the rifle is against his left shoulder and he turns, he doesn't change shoulders as the rifle is still against his left shoulder after he turns. However, there is no longer a flag patch on his right shoulder, meaning the shot was flipped as indicated.
Continuity mistake: When the two Delta Force members are defending the second downed chopper one of them shoots an attacker and he does a unique side flip as he dies. After the story progresses a few minutes we see the same attacker shot and flipping again but from a different camera angle. (01:30:33)
Continuity mistake: When the soldiers are trying to clamp Jamie's femoral artery, there is a shot of Jamie's head and a comrade next to him holding it. He has no blood on his head, but all of a sudden it just appears. It wasn't from his leg as his comrades were putting pressure on it at the time, so it wasn't squirting blood. (01:42:05)
Factual error: After the scene with Mike Durant and his captors there is a shot of a helicopter circling the city and broadcasting the message "Mike Durant, we won't leave you behind." This did happen, but in the days after the battle, not that same night when all the other soldiers were stuck in the city too. The commanders don't even know that Durant has been taken prisoner yet, in fact at this stage they probably thought he was dead. (This is deliberately changed for the film, but still a factual error.) (01:44:45)
Other mistake: During Mike Durant's capture the helicopter circling overhead that broadcasts "Mike Durant we won't leave you behind!" is the voice of Tom Sizemore who plays Col. McKnight - it even says so in close captioning." Col. McKnight was in the streets of Mogadishu engaged in battle at that time. (01:44:45)
Factual error: The medic working on Jamie (the ranger with the femoral artery wound) is a delta named Schmid (from BHD the book). But in the movie, the guy's wearing green armor and has hair only on the top of his head - both typical of a ranger and not a delta. [Little known fact (far from OPSEC), but prior to deployment, all the Delta guys got high and tight haircuts. I was in 2-14 Infantry (part of 10th Mountain Division) during that timeframe.] (01:51:10)
Continuity mistake: In the scene with the aerial view of the Rangers pinned down at night the camera uses night-vision to show its dark. Then the scene changes to General Garrison in the command centre and the live TV screens behind him show reused daytime footage from earlier in the movie. (01:52:01)
Continuity mistake: After the failed femoral artery surgery attempt, that soldier slowly dies. When he finally stops breathing the medic jumps in to do CPR. The soldier dies with a blank stare, but during the shots of the medic doing CPR the dead man's eyes are closed. (01:54:40)
Revealing mistake: Just after Jamie 'Smitty' Smith has passed away due to being shot in the thigh, the medic starts CPR. The camera cuts from the medic to Smitty and you can see his eyes move. (01:54:57)
Factual error: In the movie, the stranded ground force calls in a gun run by Little Bird helicopters by having a Ranger post an infrared marker inside an enemy position to designate the target. This is the only time the attack helicopters are shown actively supporting the defending troops at the crash site. However, it is COMPLETELY absurd and unrealistic(not to mention suicidal) to mark enemy positions in this manner. What actually happened was that the markers were placed around the perimeter of the defender's position for the pilots, who made anything outside of it fair game. Also, the Little Birds provided CONTINUOUS air support with their miniguns and rockets through to the following morning, which is credited by US forces and Somalis alike as being the main thing preventing the Rangers from being overrun and wiped out. (01:55:20)
Revealing mistake: While running at the very end, there is a close-up shot where a Ranger lifts his rifle to fire. We see it recoil against his shoulder, and we hear several shots, but he doesn't pull the trigger. His finger lies flat against the gun. (02:04:05)
Visible crew/equipment: Near the end of the movie when the convoy is heading back to the Pakistan Stadium, a Humvee stops briefly to allow a man to walk across the street with a child in his arms. When the shot changes and the Humvee begins driving again, a crew member or cameraman is seen inside the Humvee wearing a white shirt. All of the men who entered the Humvee were wearing fatigues. (02:05:27)
Deliberate mistake: When the list of the KIA during the raid is showing, the name of Matt Rierson is up there but he died 3 days later from a mortar attack on the base. (02:11:50)
Suggested correction: Although he was killed 2 days later, he is still considered a casualty of the battle in official records so it's not a mistake.
Other mistake: The credits (and various websites) lists Canadian-born actor Kim Coates as portraying the character Wex, but he actually plays Master Sergeant Tim "Griz" Martin. (02:12:40)
Revealing mistake: At the end of the movie, where Sgt. Eversman talks to the dead Corporal Jamie Smith about Blackburn, he says he's gonna talk to Smith's parents when he gets home. When Eversman places his hand on the chest of Smith, you can see his eyelids move. (02:14:08)
Factual error: In the movie, the Rangers and Delta operators defending the crash site are engaged by several 'technicals' (pick-up trucks with crew served weapons mounted) including one with a recoilless rifle directed by the Somali 'head honcho'. Also, several technicals seem to (somewhat implausibly) spring from the woodwork as they flee the city on foot... However, during the entire course of the actual battle, there was never a SINGLE mention of the pinned down forces being engaged by such vehicles and the Rambo-style capture of the recoilless rifle was a comical fabrication.
Suggested correction: Technicals engaged US forces throughout the battle. Although they may not have been engaged by a technical with a recoilless rifle, they most certainly were engaged by technicals.
Factual error: In one of the early scenes at the army base, the song "Die Born" by Days of the New can be heard playing over the PA system. This song was not released until 2001, eight years after the film takes place.
